The present invention generally relates to the field of computers, and specifically to the field of manufacturing, packing, and transporting personal computers.
Because of their fragile nature, personal computers must be handled with extreme care during packing and transporting operations. Typically, computers are packaged at the manufacturing facility using cardboard boxes and resilient inserts. For example, large foam blocks can be positioned over the ends of the computer, and the resulting assembly can then be inserted into a heavy-duty cardboard box. The box is subsequently sealed closed by taping or gluing.
To provide adequate protection from the shocks that can be incurred during the transporting process, it is well-known that the foam blocks must be relatively thick. Typically, the foam is roughly half the thickness of the computer on all sides of the computer. In addition, in order to allow the packaged computers to be stacked, the cardboard box must be very strong. Due to the size of the computers and the thickness of the foam, these boxes must also be very large. It is estimated that the foam and cardboard associated with packaging computers costs roughly $12 per computer.
During transport, the computers are commonly stacked onto a pallet and secured in place using packing straps, stretch wrap, or both. When stacked in this configuration, roughly eighteen (18) computers can be stacked onto a pallet. The packaged and palleted computers occupy roughly eighty-six (86) cubic feet.
When the packaged computer is received by the user, the box is cut open, typically using a knife or other sharp tool. The computer and foam are then carefully removed from the box, and the foam blocks are removed from the end of the computer. The user must then dispose of the cardboard and foam, which is undesirable from an environmental perspective. If a large quantity of computers are being received, the tasks of opening the boxes, removing the computers, and disposing the packaging materials can be significant, and can result in considerable expense to the user.
The present invention provides a method of manufacturing, packing, and transporting computers that does not require the above-described thick foam blocks and heavy-duty cardboard, thereby saving considerable up-front cost in packing computers. In addition, the present invention facilitates transporting computers in a more compact arrangement, thereby reducing transportation costs. The present invention also avoids the need to open boxes and remove the computers from boxes, thereby saving the user time when receiving the computers. The present invention also does not utilize disposable foam and/or cardboard, and therefore saves the time and money associated with disposal of these items and is more environmentally sound.
More specifically, instead of using individual cardboard boxes, thick foam blocks, and pallets, the present invention utilizes a rack that safely holds a plurality of computers. The rack includes at least one support member dimensioned to support a plurality of computers. At least one shock-absorbing pad (e.g., anti-static polyethylene) is supported by the support member, and the computers are supported by the shock-absorbing pad(s). The rack can be provided with rollers mounted to a bottom portion of the rack to facilitate movement of the assembly onto and off of a transport vehicle.
The shock-absorbing pad can include a lower portion positioned under at least one of the computers, and/or a side portion positioned along a side of at least one of the computers. Preferably, at least one of the pads includes a unitary lower portion that supports more than one computer (e.g., in inverted T-shaped pad). The pad can be secured to the support member in such a manner that it can be selectively detached from the support member (e.g., using a hook and loop fastener). The assembly can also include at least one upper shock-absorbing pad positioned above the computers. Preferably, the upper shock-absorbing pad comprises an upper portion positioned above at least one of the computers and a side portion positioned along a side of at least one of the computers.
The above-described rack can be utilized to practice an innovative method of manufacturing, packing, and transporting a plurality of computers. The method includes the steps of assembling a plurality of computers, providing a rack adapted to support the computers, and positioning the computers onto the rack. The method continues by loading the rack onto a transport vehicle at a first location (e.g., at the manufacturing facility), moving the loaded transport vehicle to a second location (e.g., at the buyer""s facility), unloading the rack from the transport vehicle, and removing the computers from the rack.
Preferably, the providing step includes the step of placing a shock-absorbing pad on the rack, and the positioning step comprises positioning the computers onto the shock-absorbing pad. In addition, a shock-absorbing pad can be positioned above and on the sides of the plurality of computers. In one embodiment, the rack includes rollers, in which case the loading step includes rolling the rack onto the transport vehicle, and the unloading step includes rolling the rack off of the transport vehicle. In order to reduce contamination of the computers, the method can further include the step of wrapping the rack with a barrier material (e.g., stretch wrap).
If desired, some of the concepts of the present invention can be utilized to perform a method of distributing new or refurbished computers within a facility. For example, the buyer of computers can receive the computers (e.g., in boxes or otherwise) and place them on a mobile rack. The rack can then be moved from a first location within the buyer""s facility to a second location where a computer is removed from the rack (e.g., at the location where the computer will be operated). If the computer is replacing an old computer, then the old computer can be placed onto the rack (e.g., in the location where the new or refurbished computer was located). The rack can then be moved to additional locations for delivery and/or pickup of additional computers.